Advertisers bail from Limbaugh show

Three advertisers on Rush Limbaugh’s popular radio show Friday announced that they are pulling their ads, and other companies are expressing concern over customer outrage in the wake of the conservative host’s controversial “slut” comments this week.

“We don’t condone negative comments directed toward any group. In response, we are currently pulling our ads from Rush with Rush Limbaugh,” the company Sleep Train Mattress Centers announced on its Twitter account early Friday.

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The company began tweeting at some of its followers starting around midnight, telling multiple Twitter users, “Thank you for your concern. We are currently pulling all of our ads with Rush Limbaugh.”

All of the company’s tweets announcing its decision met grateful responses from the Twitter world.

“I have to buy a frame this weekend. Now I know where to go. Thank you for refusing to support Rush’s hatred,” @djimenez9 tweeted.

“Thank you @theSleepTrain for not supporting misogyny. You’re a good egg,” said @FlightyWendy.

Sleep Number, another mattress and bed company, joined its competitor Friday afternoon, announcing on Twitter, “Recent comments by Rush Limbaugh do not align w/our values, so we made decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program.”

Quicken Loans also followed suit, tweeting late Friday afternoon, “Due to continued inflammatory comments– along w/valuable feedback from clients & team members– QL has suspended ads on Rush Limbaugh program.”

The companies’ decisions come on the heels of Limbaugh calling a Georgetown University law student a “prostitute” and “slut” on his show Wednesday for testifying on Capitol Hill about women’s access to contraception. Limbaugh stayed on the defense Thursday and Friday and didn’t offer an apology to Fluke, despite the widespread public outrage.

A few other companies indicated Friday that they are concerned about the flood of concerns pouring in on Twitter, as the #BoycottRush began to pick up steam.

Pro Flowers tweeted, “We would like to assure you that we do not endorse the views expressed by Rush Limbaugh. We understand your concerns and value your feedback.”

And a representative for the company told POLITICO that they have received many phone calls regarding Limbaugh’s comments, but that a decision has not yet been made on whether to yank their ads from his radio show. “Once they’ve made a decision, they will make it public. Right now, all I can say is we apologize. We don’t agree with and endorse what he’s saying,” the rep said.

The dating website eHarmony tweeted at dozens of disgruntled Twitter users: “We’ve never paid for ads on Limbaugh. We’re looking into the matter of ‘network buys’ & will let you know what we discover,” after an earlier tweet to an individual Thursday that said, “TY for msg, we’ve seen that incorrect info online as well. We don’t advertise on Limbaugh show nor do we have affiliation w/him.”

Real estate company Century 21 also came under fire, but the online attacks apparently were undeserved.

“In response to multiple consumer inquiries — @CENTURY21 is not a sponsor of the Rush Limbaugh radio program. Not sure where this started,” the company tweeted.

Companies that do not necessarily sponsor “The Rush Limbaugh Show” seemed to have come under attack because of tweets like this: “Send a message and #BoycottRush: @ProFlowers, @TheSleepTrain, @eHarmony, @Carbonite, @Oreck, @AutoZone, @LegalZoom, @Citrix, @LendingTree”

Michael Soifer, listed on the website of “The Rush Limbaugh Show”as the advertising contact for the program, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.